Ceuta and Melilla, the pending assignments of Felipe VI

MadridNine years ago, a group of Moroccan citizens demonstrated in Casablanca. They waved Moroccan flags and held up banners that read down with colonialism. Others were written in Arabic. The scene was captured by Efe photojournalist Karim Selmaoui. And the reason for their protest was none other than the visit of the Spanish royal family to Ceuta. It was the first time Juan Carlos and Sofia had set foot on the African continent to visit this autonomous city – it took them 32 years from the start of their reign. It was also the last. In fact, since then, there has been no visit from the Spanish monarchy to Ceuta, nor to Melilla. It is the pending trip for Felipe VI as king, although as prince he also never went there.

The monarch has toured all the autonomous communities and has visited them especially when there has been a disaster: in the case of the railway accident in Adamuz, the flood in the Valencian Community, the fires in Castile and León... But in what has been the first "violation of Spain's territorial integrity" in democracy, in the words of the Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, after the massive entry into Ceuta, Felipe VI has not traveled to the scene. He did meet with the president of Ceuta, Juan Vivas (PP), whom he received this Thursday at the Marivent Palace, in Palma de Mallorca, where the monarch is on holiday and participating in the Copa del Rey sailing regatta, this year with the yacht Hispania. In fact, Vivas assured this Thursday after the meeting that Felipe VI had "committed to visiting Ceuta".

This exception of the Spanish monarchy with Ceuta and Melilla is evidence of how everything related to these two autonomous cities not only affects Spain –and Europe– but also the country with which they share a border: Morocco. Therefore, any gesture must be carefully considered so as not to awaken diplomatic ghosts. The visit of Juan Carlos in the autumn of 2007 triggered a threat from King Mohammed VI, who even summoned the Spanish ambassador to the Alawite country for consultations. The Alawite kingdom has historically claimed that these two enclaves – Ceuta and Melilla – are "occupied cities" in North African territory, while Spain defends its sovereignty as they have belonged to the Spanish crown since the 15th and 16th centuries. Therefore, the fact that the royal family traveled to Ceuta was interpreted by Morocco as a "provocation". The Alawite regime even threatened with "serious consequences".

In Moncloa they have avoided answering whether a visit by Felipe VI has been considered after the entry of thousands of migrants. They are passing the ball to the royal household, where they are clinging to last weekend's statement in which Felipe VI expressed his "indignation" at the "serious events" in Ceuta and asked that they "not be repeated". A trip by him to the autonomous city, like any other trip he makes, needs to be endorsed by the Spanish government. And in this case, the always delicate diplomatic relationship with the Alawite country does not go unnoticed.

Visit in 2014

This does not mean that Felipe VI and Mohamed VI have never met. In fact, the harmony of their relationship is good, explain those who follow information linked to the monarchy. The King of Morocco received Felipe VI and Letizia in 2014 as part of their presentation as new monarchs in the State. After that visit, they returned in 2019. Unlike his predecessor, Hassan II, in Mohamed VI's latest major speeches there has been no reference to the claim of the two autonomous cities.

However, it is not only the PSOE that looks askance at Morocco, aware that any move will generate unease and reprisals. The PP, although it has used a tougher tone against Morocco with the crisis in Ceuta compared to the Spanish government, has also not entered into direct confrontation. When it governed, this fear that the relationship would be spoiled even led to convincing Ceuta not to request its entry into the European Customs Union.